ABOUT
MISSION: To advance knowledge, leadership and recommendations on key policy-critical issues related to the rise of India and South Asia more broadly.
PROPOSAL: The creation of a Project on India and the Subcontinent at the Belfer Center. The project will cover two substantive fields of interest (encompassing the public/private divide):
- Bilateral relations between the United States and countries in the region; and
- Transnational issues relevant to the region, to include:
- Internal domestic political constraints and trends
- Regional foreign policy dynamics
- Broad security-related issues (e.g., energy, terrorism, narcotics and nonproliferation)
- Economic and development issues (e.g., economic development, environment and health).
VISION: The project will provide a focal point for providing policy-critical research, education and recommendations on South Asia, with particular focus on India. The goals of the program include:
- To build a network and become the hub within the Kennedy School and the broader community for policy-related research, teaching and analysis on issues related to South Asia;
- To become a leading forum and create a think-tank capability to provide relevant and implementable research and policy recommendations; and
- To enhance the South Asia-related academic program at the Kennedy School both in regular courses and through executive programs.
CONTEXT: The project will build on the long-standing policy connections between Harvard and India that started with the appointment of John Kenneth Galbraith to be Ambassador to Delhi, followed by Daniel Patrick Moynihan and, most recently, Robert Blackwill. Within the Belfer Center, Kennedy School and Harvard University, there are already many resources focused on this broader region. This project will build on these creating a collaborative framework in which to strengthen the offering in this space.
At the Belfer Center: The Belfer Center currently has three separate areas of activity related to South Asia that will provide the foundations for the new project:
- Geostrategic: The Belfer Center includes faculty and staff, such as Joseph Nye and Ash Carter, who have spent many years working on these countries and their role in the broader community.
- Energy and the Environment: The Energy Innovation Technology Policy (ETIP) program at the Center works on such areas as improving energy efficiencies, coal technology, transportation sectors focusing on the U.S., China and India.
- Nonproliferation: The Managing the Atom (MTA) program has long worked on broad issues related to nuclear energy, nuclear terrorism and nuclear security, in addition to work on such specific issues as AQ Khan.
At the Kennedy School: The Project on India and the Subcontinent will work with such centers at the Kennedy School that already address South Asia-related issues such as the Center for International Development (CID) and the Carr Center for Human Rights. The School also attracts faculty whose interests lie in this area who will have the opportunity to engage in the broader network created by the project. In addition, the school runs two Executive Programs with the Indian and Pakistani Governments respectively.
At Harvard: Harvard University is re-energizing its South Asia Initiative to provide a broader and deeper community of individuals and projects working on South Asia-related issues. This will bring together already established groups such as the Public Health Foundation of India at the School of Public Health, and the India program at the Business School, as well as student-run organizations to enhance cooperation and collaboration. The project will provide policy input to this new initiative and build alliances between sister organizations. The project will particularly focus on drawing in colleagues from Harvard Business School and the business sector recognizing that the private sector is going to play a pivotal role in development in the region and bilaterally.
January 17, 2008
South Asia
By Xenia Dormandy, Former Senior Associate, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
South Asia is undoubtedly a "most important foreign policy challenge" for the United States. In light of the region's increasing significance to international affairs, the Belfer Center is playing a leading role in research and policy recommendations.
